“Seemed like that bigshot wasn't all that excited by our little show. And here I thought we had found another fan,” Delirias laughed right before he punched another cultist out of his way.
Gwyn was almost overcome by his emotions and thoughts that were racing through his head before he answered his aspect
“You know what do Delirias, otherwise…” he sounded very demanding and forceful just before his aspect interrupted him.
“Alright, alright, I got it already. If I don't do what you want from me, then you will sacrifice your graceful virgin body at the altar of gods, yada yada,” he tauntingly waved around his right hand as if he didn't want to pay any more attention to what Gwyn had said.
“GET HIM!” a woman in a robe shouted as the cultists were forming a circle around the two, though they hesitated, as they were already frightened by Delirias abilities.
The aspects usual grin returned as he put his fists on his hips and walked around the circle delicately. The grin shining more brightly and terrifyingly than the white hair that was falling into his face.
At first only one of them lost his composure, but soon the others followed as their trust in each other crumbled just as quickly as Delirias had anticipated. They started to scatter and flee as other cultist appeared reporting of bad news.
“We can't reach Akui, master Malice! He should've been on his way to the grail ceremony. Where are the other guardians?! Did something happen to them as?!”
“MASTER MALICE, SAVE US! WOWOWOARRRGH!” a man screamed, just as he was sent flying across the throne room. There were too many to stop everyone from escaping.
Right then something was rushing towards Delirias with enormous momentum.
At the last second, the aspect evaded while the stone plates beneath him were shattered into many pieces by the impact of the fist of the giant Malice. For a moment his whole head was covered in steam as he gasped heavily out of anger.
“I will pulverize you until every last bone of your pathetic body has been broken,” he threatened him, not realizing that a chain had wrapped itself around his arm and was slowly covering his whole body, which was followed by the gleeful cackle of Delirias.
“Be careful, I'm a sensitive little plant,” he smiled as he pulled the chains tightly together.
“You're underestimating me, little aspect,” grumbled his enemy. With little effort he flexed all of his muscles, destroying the chains open. Though this only made Delirias smile even wider.
“W-who are these two?” Leandro said dumbstruck as he was still trying to sort everything out. He was completely useless as his body couldn't gather any strength upon remembering what had just happened, yet here those two were. Right in front of his very eyes, facing the fearsome looking Malice.
“H-how can they so easily…? Don't they care about their own lives? I-it’s… It's madness!” he gasped as he tried to catch his breath, watching Gwyn stay behind Delirias, who was struggling to fight the giant Malice on the blood splattered, half destroyed ground.
“I AM MALICE, TORMENTOR OF THE WEAK AND WORTHLESS. You will pay for your actions human!” he screamed full of rage as another hit brought the mountain walls to shake, ripping open the ground even further.
“Looks like he's pretty pissed at you, Gwyn,” Delirias laughed as he skillfully evaded another attack with a backflip.
“I can see that for myself. Thank you very much,” Gwyn sarcastically answered in haste, as he searched for usable weapons on the cultists’ bodies.
Delirias tried his best to attract all of Malice's attention towards him, while also managing the debris that was flying around, so as it didn't crush Gwyn in the meantime.
The scourge didn't seem to affect Malice all that much, unlike the opponents Delirias had faced so far. Trapping him in chains or deflecting his attacks only worked for short periods of time. Too short for an effective offense.
Leandro was still watching their struggle as if he was watching some kind of performance in a circus, where he judged everyone to be a fool who didn't think like he did.
He felt his disgust for Gwyn rising. Disgust for a guy he had only seen for a few minutes. Someone he didn't know, but also felt to be very much like him, trapped in a world they didn't even know existed.
“I can see it in your face, Leandro,” Destare said with his deep, calm voice as he didn't intervene with his partner anymore. “You hate him, don't you?”
“H-how d-do you…” he didn't even finish his sentence, because he knew his aspect was right.
“Maybe he is just as afraid as you are. Maybe he is a fool with no concern for his own life. Maybe he is a worthless little runt that doesn't deserve your attention, or maybe he is the one that makes you realize what you always wanted to do,” Destare continued as their fight shook the ground before them.
“All this time we were watching on the sidelines. Indeed, I don't blame you for your lack of uncertainty, but there comes a time where we have to decide. For us and for them.” Destare pointed above them were the corpses of the mutilated Personas were still hanging.
“I will not decide for you, so tell me, do we flee or fight?” The knight disposed of his robe, revealing his fully plated body armor, reaching out his hand towards Leandro.
Once more the beautiful, yet frightened young man looked at the spectacle before his eyes. Gwyn, who tried his best to evade the incoming rubble, evaded it only by a hair's breadth. His aspect, who they had met earlier, succeeded in rescuing his partner while already fighting someone who was much stronger than him.
As he watched a voice started to resound inside his head, coming from the depths of his memory, something he thought he had locked away a long time ago.
“You and giving it your best shot? Don't be absurd. You brought endless shame upon this family the day you decided to follow your own awry juvenile lunacy. You disappointed all of our expectations and dishonored yourself. You dishonored me, your own father.”
It was the voice of his old man, just like all those times he questioned himself before. It was followed by yet another familiar phrase spoken by a woman in a scornful overtone.
“How can you be so sure of yourself when you've never accomplished anything that was worth a damn? I hope all of this is just an elaborate joke, my son.”
“Ksk, why do I have to listen to these condescending voices now of all times?” Leandro spoke to himself as he was fighting whether he should intervene or not.
“I cannot believe how useless I've become…”
While Leandro was still contemplating, some of the cultists in the room started to take notice of his presence. In the midst of the panic, everyone scattered or fled, but now there was a chance to take another victim with them.
“Heheh, look at him. He is just a frightening little brat. Let's teach this coward a lesson,” they mumbled between each other before surrounding Leandro and his aspect, all while the immense fight of Delirias and Malice rampaged through the hall.
“COWARD?!” Leandro turned himself to the cultist screaming at them in tears.
“WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO CALL ME THAT? YOU'RE THE COWARDS FOR DOING THESE THINGS WITHOUT FACING THE CONSEQUENCES!” His voice cracked, and he was shaking, as he let his emotions run wild and the tears flow.
“You sick bastards don't know how hard it is…” he added with a whisper.
“Pah, what a bunch of bulls- URAARGHG!” one of the cultists tried to answer but was immediately punched into a wall by Destare who had already grown twice the size of Leandro.
“You should not be so judgmental of someone who is truly brave,” his deep voice rang out as he looked at them one by one. Without further ado, they scattered once more, not taking any chances with Destare and his immense height.
“Thanks, Destare…” Leandro mumbled through his tears, like a lost child that was protected by his guardian.
“Don't mention it,” the aspect slowly walked back to his side. “You shouldn't let such scum irritate you. Only someone who knows fe
ar can be truly brave by acting despite it,” the giant patted Leandro’s back with a gentle push.
“Let's help this foolish guy over there, shall we?” His deep voice sounded as if he was smiling inside his armor.
Leandro wiped the tears away, leaving his eyes slightly red, clenching his fists as he nodded to his aspect.
“Prepare yourself, Destare. We're intervening.”
“I got you,” he said seemingly proud of his partner, marching forward as the ground trembled a little underneath his enormous steps.
In the meantime, Delirias still managed to closely evade the attacks of Malice that brought the hall to its knees. Unfortunately, he didn't realize how porous the ground had already become as he flipped backward, slipping on some of the blood on the destroyed floor grounds.
“Dammit,” he hissed.
“This is your end!” Malice shouted as he was about to strike him with his incredibly force.
“KHIRON ARTEUS!” another voice screamed next to him, and before he even knew what had happened to him, Malice was catapulted backward by a forceful punch.
“Not too shabby, tin can,” Delirias laughed, regaining his composure, casually dusting off his clothes.
“We should end this fast. I don't think our combined powers can outlast such a monster. Especially not that little toy of yours.”
“Kikiki, just sit still and watch in awe as I make this show all about me,” Delirias continued to laugh as he swept with his hand over his face until he reached his flawless white hair.
At the same time, Gwyn managed to make his way to the, still slightly unsure, young man Leandro, who was watching the fight with his hands in prayer.
“Thanks for the help,” he said with glistening eyes and a smile towards Leandro. “I'm Gwyn, and that's my aspect Delirias.”
The man with his black locks didn't know how to respond.
“How can he be so calm? Is he just insane or incredibly dense?” he thought to himself as he was a little bit afraid of Gwyn.
“Hm? Is something wrong?” he asked Leandro. “Ah, sorry I didn't mean to come off as such a weird guy, but a lot has happened, and I just couldn't let it go on anymore, you know? As if there was a feeling that if I don't do something now, I will have failed myself forever,” Gwyn blurted out in a slightly awkward stance, while rubbing over his hair and speaking his mind.
“Y-yeah… I think I do,” Leandro answered out loud as he realized that even though he hated his reckless attitude, the two of them might not be all that different after all. Leandro looked at the ragged clothing of Gwyn and still couldn't believe it fully.
“How can he act like this?” he thought before he was stopped, as Gwyn grabbed his hand and shook it.
“Don't worry. I have a feeling that we can win this. Together!” he said as they both turned their heads around to see their aspects fighting alongside each other to face the atrocious beast.
Malice truly seemed unstoppable.
His rage had reached a point where everything was considered meaningless collateral damage if it furthered his goal of killing the two aspects and their human partners.
The remaining cultists that were still lurking around were either cut in half, squashed, smashed or blown away by the ongoing struggle. Malice managed to have a look at the first meeting of the two men.
“Pitiful creatures,” he snapped. “How you managed to climb on top of the food chain in your world will always remain a mystery to me. Pathetic and without a spine until the bitter end. Worthless lump of flesh.” Steam came out of his airways as he trudged through the throne room. With every step, he increased his speed, filled with bloodlust, ready to eliminate his targets.
“Not so fast, my hot-blooded friend,” Malice heard someone shouting behind his back. In his haste, he didn't realize that Delirias was ready to face him yet again. Mid-sprint he felt that something had wrapped itself around his leg.
Immediately he lost his balance and was brought to a fall. His heavy body broke the stone plates even further. Delirias fell into an uncontrollable laughing fit, while he held onto his coat that was fluttering from the shockwave of the impact.
“It may not be the most effective art of killing, but our little play is not over yet, Malice. Didn't your parents teach you to wait until the end before standing up?”
While Malice raged as he got up, his voice echoed through the hall.
“Aspects are so deplorable. Bound to their humans, distanced from their own freedom.”
Almost without any scratches or wound the mighty colossus raised himself out of the rubble. Gwyn and Leandro were clinging to each other, hoping for the best.
“You might be right about that,” Delirias answered in an unusually serious tone, after seeing the two young men together. “But even after all this time that you have been freed, you never came to understand the most important point of it all.”
“Ha, what could a worm like you possibly know?!”
Delirias took a run-up and flung himself in the air in front Malice, gaining the attention of everyone.
With a loud laugh, he yelled, “Fufu, you are nothing but a lapdog, biting the hand of the master that was responsible for your existence. You will never be able to see it. This misguided, foolish species of humans is the most interesting thing that's ever happened!”
After these words, he started to rotate around his own axis, as his body was flying through the air at such a fast pace that the humans couldn't follow him anymore. Like a tornado, he spun in the air, closing in on Malice who didn't know how to react.
Before reaching him, Delirias suddenly stopped and shouted something again, “I hope you're ready, tin man!”
The aspect had pulled his arms together and used the rotation of his body to give his chains the much-needed strength, as Malice was only able to see how a flail-like chain impacted onto his face, dragging him to the ground with enormous might.
As he was falling, he noticed a second figure closing in on him from the shadows.
It was Destare who was now completely covered in blood, standing by his side. Blood ran all over his body, coming from the holes in his armor where the large spikes erupted. He had grown to the size of Malice himself.
The metal glove of Destare punched into his face from beneath before Malice could stop himself from hitting the ground, letting the monster fly across the throne room. The old floor plates broke, and the rotten masonry resembled a battlefield. More dust was swirled up through the air, and the smell of the old ruins engulfed the shattered room.
Malice tried to stand up but was thwarted in his plan by Delirias who pulled at his chains, bringing him down again, like a puppeteer.
Face first he landed on the ground. At the same time, something heavy was about to crush down on him from above.
It was Destare who used the giant body he grew as a weapon, planning to end the fight. In one last instance of strength, before Destare’s impact, Malice managed to roll out of harm's way. His strength and confidence seemed to fade a little as he was about to realize that his overwhelming might wasn't the right choice for the combined power of the aspects.
“If only I had brought my weapons…” Malice thought to himself. Destare hit the ground next to him, resulting in another shockwave. Upon the chaos, he managed to put a few feet between him and the attacking aspects.
“You foolish creatures! Prepare yourself to face my wrath. Even if that means that I have to return to the beginning,” he yelled at the top of his lungs in a desperate tone, raising his arms above his head.
“Sometimes you only recognize too late that, after all this time, you have been the foolish one. Taking for granted everything that was given to you,” a calm voice explained to him that resounded from the ceiling.
“IMPOSSIBLE!” Blinded by his anger Malice wasn't able to read the fight as well as before. He neither could compete with the acrobatics of Delirias nor did his power seem to be that much greater than the aspect covered in blood.
His eyes
fueled by hatred, his deep breath escaped his mouth. He couldn't believe it, but one last time Delirias reigned supreme as he flew past him, wrapping his chains around his raised arms. Like a chained animal in a zoo, he was at Delirias’ leash, where the aspect grinned at the enraged giant.
With sadistic pleasure, he pulled the chains forward bringing the colossus out of balance.
“Stuck in the old ways, too blind to accept your weakness, denying your growth. Truly when you speak of fools you know your craft,” the deep voice of Destare proclaimed, who suddenly appeared behind Malice's back as he was about to fall.
Destare clenched his fists, while the spikes from his armor grew even longer, piercing the enormous body of Malice whole. His whole body was gored by the metal spikes. Malice’s disfigured corpse fell to their feet with a last dull and loud bang.
In his last moments, he closed his eyes, remaining silent until the end. Malice's last thoughts remained hidden from the world, lying in his own blood that mixed itself with the blood of the murdered Personas. Even if it was just for a short and single moment. A single pause between all the screams and suffering that they had experienced in such a short time. For one single moment, everything was plunged into nothing but silence.
Chapter 16 – Crossroads
“Let's get out of here!” Leandro took a moment to calm his brain and heart down
“They should be nothing without their leader”.
Destare returned to Leandro’s side, regaining his former size until he was almost small enough to fall into his arms.
“Are you alright, big guy?” The man with the curly hair worried about his aspect.
“It's nothing. I just need some rest,” the aspect panted.
Meanwhile, Delirias pierced Gwyn with his elbow.
“Hey, hey, don't you worry about me as well? Maybe I'm deeply hurt. The tragic fate of a soldier on the battlefield, not being able to return to his loved ones. Breathing his last breath, thinking about his missed opportunities, Kikiki.”
“Spare me,” Gwyn deflected his usual charade. “There are still many things we don't understand yet.” Gwyn was ready to join up with their newfound acquaintances.
My Insanity Page 20
